Into The Darkness
by DanganJu
Summary: A Harpian girl discovers her powers and her true origins that will change her forever and she founds herself being forced to avenge her race, even if against her will... but she won't allow her soul to become dark...
1. So different, so similar

Balthazar Orphanage: a bunch of bullies and creeps who amused themselves by targeting me and my sister with their wicked jokes, during playtime or when it was the occasion. I always hated that place. Located in the middle of the Valley of Balthazar on the planet Aswinda, the orphanage was the place where I had lived since the early years of my life, along with Dalya, my younger sister.

The thing I've never understood was the reason for such rejection towards us from all the sides. The teachers, better don't talk about it, they put in punishment us for the slightest things. And the other children; some of them stared evil to us, others made stupid jokes, and others again preferred to go on heavier ways. I had tried several times to make friends with some of the girls, maybe with who appeared to be the most serious and that inspired me confidence, but the poison of rejection affected their reason, too. So, Dalya and I spent all our time in our room, where we played, we talked, we read books and slept. We were isolated from the others, because no one would never enjoyed our company.

Our room was like an impregnable fortress, where no one else could enter. Here we felt safe and secure by anyone. It was quite small, also a bit claustrophobic because of the space occuped by a bunk bed, a large wardrobe that was empty of clothes but full of books and a desk under the window, at the end of the room. All the furnitures were in hard wood , chipped and always cold. The walls, once blue, had taken on a gray color and in different points of them there were disconnected fragments of plaster. From the ceiling hung a huge and black chandelier, extraordinarily old, made in wrought iron, but its light bulbs were burned out, so it had never given any signs of life. Because of this, the room was always immersed in the dim light at day, and in total darkness at night, accompanied by the grip of the icy cold. Except for rare days when the sun's rays shined with such intensity to cut the thick fog that filled the valley and come up to our window, illuminating the interior of the room.

I had always spent most of my free time at the window. It was pretty large, which made pleasant to contemplate the landscape of the world beyond the barrier of the glass, even along with my sister. It gave me an apparent feeling of freedom. The endless valley stretched to a dark strip that seemed to be a forest, only to be surrounded by an imposing mountain chain, which profile was visible in the distance. In particular, each time I was admiring the mountains, my gaze went to rest on the summit of the highest mountain, the one in the middle, which stood just in front of the orphanage, in precise correspondence of the window. Its top had the funny shape of a proud blade that rose up to the sky, like a commemorative monument.

While I was contemplating I thinked: _I wonder how many new and unknown things are there in the world_! I would have liked to open the window and escape, escape from that cursed place as a prison and run toward new horizons. How many times did I have thought this, but with a bit of disappointment I came back to reality: I couldn't leave Dalya, she was too small and helpless to face certain risks and therefore, for her sake, I decided to don't do it.

Dalya was the person I mostly cared for. She wasn't only my sister but also my best friend, the one who always stood beside me and with whom I had a great complicity. Every time I defended her from the bullies and the creeps, preferring that they tease me instead of her. Even if she had never told it to me, Dalya was suffering a lot because of this. She immediately ran into our room and started to cry on the bed, her face buried in the pillow. She had always been too sensitive, and seeing that made me feel bad. I always consoled her, and she always replied with a hug, everything that a girl of her age could give, as well as lots of love. But I knew, however, that the shadow of fear couldn't be dispelled from her heart with a so simple gesture. So I accompanied Dalya in the girls' bathrooms at the ground floor, where she would wash her face from all the tears. We had always gone there through the back hallway, to avoid any unpleasant encounters in the lunch room.

That of the bathrooms was the second place that I preferred after our room. Although there had always been someone else, so it wasn't really a private place, it was still quiet and peaceful. It was very shabby, as all the other locals of the orphanage. As you entered, on the left there were cabins and on the right there were sinks, topped by a large mirror. In the corners of the walls there were thick and dark webs, that when they were illuminated by the dim light of the lamp received a disturbing aspect. But I always looked away, turning at the mirror along with Dalya. It was dusty, except in some points where there were draws of sad faces done with fingers, and it was divided in two in the middle by a crack that tore it like a thunderbolt. When my sister and I were in front of the mirror, in a half there was her reflection, and in the other there was mine.

Although we weren't twins, we were identical. Both with a pale skin that almost sparkled when lit up, and our faces were framed by thick and very long black hair, that loosed down on the back. On the sides of the head protruded two long pointed ears with a tuft of black feathers on them, as the black feathers on our wings and tail. The only two things that allowed the teachers to differentiate us from each other, were the very intense and almost brilliant blue tone in my eyes, while those of Dalya were more dull and greyish, and what was even more special was a small and bluish drop set in the middle of my forehead. I always wondered what it was and why I had to have it, while my sister not. This made me feel even more different from her. Despite everything, it gave me no problems and I tried to take the matter with indifference. But it didn't last long.

Lately, after my sixth birthday, in fact, I began to have strange nightmares, which was very unusual because I rarely dreamed. And these had become recurring almost every night. I was dreaming of being surrounded by strange creatures which had enormous blue eyes that sparkled in the dark and that whispered at unison phrases in a language unknown to me. I had no idea what this wanted to mean.

One night in particular, I found myself running at breakneck speed through the ruins of what appeared to be an immense and destroyed city; in fact, debris was scattered everywhere and the tongues of fire were preparing to devour the remains of the last buildings with their heat. I had no idea from what I was running away, but I had the impression of being chased by a wild beast. Suddenly the run was interrupted by the appearance of those creatures that surrounded me and whispered:

"_Come with us... we have so much to show to you. The king wants you to accomplish your destiny..._"

What would it mean? It sounded like a premonition. I woke up with a severe headache in the middle of the night, in the darkness of our room. I was sweaty and my breathing was accelerated. I kept staring at the blank in front of my eyes, trying to tidy up what I had just seen.

"_Shayla... are you okay?_"

I gasped when I got called from my sister. I turned to my left and saw her standing next to my bed. Probably she woke up because she was thirsty and wanted me to accompany her to get a drink in the kitchen, as she used to do. She was afraid to walk in the orphanage at night time, alone.

"_Yes, everything is okay, Dalya._"

"_It doesn't seem to me... I woke up and I felt you stirred in your sleep... I wanted to make sure if you were okay..._"

"_Well ... I had a nightmare, that's all. There is nothing to worry about..._"

A strained smile. I wanted to defuse the situation. But I bit my tongue. Evidently Dalya had noticed that it was a while that was going on so and kept looking at me puzzled, with the shaking light of the candle that lit up her face. Then she furrowed her brow in a frown.

"_So if it's all okay, why is that drop on your forehead shining?_"


	2. Whispering in the night

Dalya kept a straight and strangely calm expression, as if she was expecting something like this would happen sooner or later.

"_What?_"

"_That drop on your forehead, is shining!_"

I couldn't believe at Dalya's words. Still sitting on my bed, wrapped in a light and consumed blanket that didn't stop the advance of the cold air, I tried to look up. In fact, over the dim light of the candle that was holding my sister, I could see a blue halo spread from my forehead.

"_I need a mirror!_"

"_In our room there aren't any mirrors._"

"_Let's go into the bathroom, where there is one that we always use._"

After said that, since I wanted to better analyze what was happening to me, we walked silently out of the room.

"_Wait, first shut down the candle, or if the teachers find us while we are strolling through the orphanage we will be in trouble!_"

"_But then I won't see anything!_"

"_Calm down, do what I said and then take my hand: I will guide you._"

Secretly, I had the ability to see in the darkness since I was a child. Nobody, apart my sister, was aware of this. But, despite everything, Dalya preferred to bring along a candle to shed light: darkness disturbed her. But now it was necessary to turn the candle off to avoid a detention from the teachers. I didn't want to end up in punishment like the last time, when I left the candle to my sister while I was taking her in the kitchen. The surveillance teacher noticed the light and we got discovered, then she blocked us in our room for the entire next day as detention. It was a horrible thing. But I shook my head, trying to not think about it now.

Meanwhile Dalya had blown out the candle, turning it off, and everything fell into darkness. The only light source was now the slight bluish halo that was rising from the drop on my forehead. What did it mean? Even if I was trying to hide my pain to not annoy my sister, in the depth of my heart I had a great fear. What was happening to me? I took Dalya's hand into mine, her hand was cold and delicate.

"_Why are you shaking?_"

"_Shh... don't make any noise..._"

Feeling my heart beating in my throat, I began to advance in the darkness, which was so thick that I had to strain my eyes to see. At the touch of my bare feet on the cold wooden floor I froze up, and I felt the chills go up my legs to my spine and spread along the wings, ending at the tip of the feathers. While I was concentrating on the way I tried to don't chatter my teeth.

We were on the third floor, where a long rectangular corridor was surrounding the central space where there were the stairs, and finished to our room, that was hidden and forgotten by all. Along the corridor, on the right there were the doors of the rooms of the other children, while on the left there was a continuous parapet that overlooked on the floor below. The stairs were right on the left side of the second section of the corridor, at our opposite position. We stepped quietly to the stairs, and up to now there weren't complications yet, there was no trace of teachers. We got down through the stairs, with the greatest care to don't crack the wooden planks that seemed to be able to break at any moment.

That place was slowly falling apart as well as my soul.

The second floor was structured like the third, the same rectangular corridor divided in four sections with the stairs at the bottom. We went through the floor without problems. Apparently, everyone was sleeping deeply that night.

The first floor was, however, the one that housed the classrooms for the morning and afternoon lessons. It consisted of a large bare room, with only two benches that were moved continuously during the day and a large black desk placed in the corner near the front wall. On that wall there were four huge and elongated windows, terminating in a sharp three-lobed arch, as the window of our room. From the ceiling hung three large chandeliers with some almost consumed candles, decorated with cobwebs motifs. On our left there was the door of the classroom of Alien Culture and the one of Physics and Biology, flanked by other scales that went to the ground floor. In front of us, there was the entrance to the small Gym and the Teachers' Room, the meeting point of the teachers. And the thing that surprised me, in that moment, was the intense white light coming out through the ajar door. There were voices coming from the inside. Strange, I thought. The teachers never used to meet to talking at night. It must have been a quite secret discussion.

I was intrigued by this, and in a moment I completely forgot the real reason why my sister and I left the room that night. I walked towards the light, when Dalya regained my attention, tugging at my right arm.

"_What are you going to do, Shayla? If they discover us, we'll be in trouble!_"

"_I just want to hear what they are saying, we won't be discovered, trust me._"

"_Okay, if you say so..._"

I went further to the door, while Dalya remained a few steps behind, apparently she was afraid of being discovered. Just as it seemed, the door was ajar, and there were voices coming from the inside.

"_As I was saying... we must get rid of the Ravensky sisters from the orphanage, for a reason you know!_"

"_Yeah. But how will we do this? Nobody wants them in adoption, we've already tried it so many times..._ "

"_And we can't even move them away... Just wonder... what these two will be able to do once grown up! Remember what the letter said, isn't it? The one that was in the basket along them, that day we found them in front of the orphanage door..._ "

The teachers' discussion began to interest me terribly. I didn't mind the cold that enveloped me anymore, now all my energies were focused in hearing, I wanted to hear anything they had to say. About _us_. Concentrated, without hearing my breathing, and my heart that was beating like a drum, I gently grabbed the rusty handle of the door and opened it slowly. I gritted my teeth when it gave a creak, but fortunately the teachers were so taken by the discussion that they didn't noticed it.

Now I was able to catch a glimpse of the room: small, with gray walls, lit by a large golden chandelier. At the center, there was a coffee table, around which there were all the five teachers.

"_Sure... that day when the curse fell on the orphanage!_"

Said Miss Stoneheart rolling her eyes and desperately raising her hands to heaven.

"_If I remember correctly, the letter, in addition of the names of the two, said (whispering) that while growing up, especially one would become particularly dangerous, and that it would be necessary to move her away..._"

"_It would represent a great danger to the entire orphanage!_"

"_I know... I've always suspected about the true origins of those two..._"

"_Wait, I have an idea that will surely solve the problem!_"

Miss Stoneheart intervened again, with a sharp look and an attitude among the cryptic and the evil.

"_Really? So, what is it?_"

"_In my opinion, the only way to get rid of them... it's to kill them!_"

I couldn't believe at what I've just heard. I groaned and staggered backwards, almost losing my balance. Tears began to welling in my eyes, accompanied by the furious beat of my heart.

"_Shayla, are you alright?!_"

I heard my sister scream and ran towards me. I wanted to cover her mouth with my hand, she shouted and now the teachers would have realized that we were spying them.

"_Have you heard that?_"

"_It sounded like a little girl..._"

With horror I realized that the teachers were about to leave the courtroom to control...


End file.
